we are young
by Jenni Saba
Summary: AU. drabbles. #1 Understanding; Junpei doesn't understand why his father hits him all the time. Chidori provides solace.
1. Their Somewhat Awkward Story

Iwatodai Private Intermediate School was a place honor, respect and diligence. Therefore, naturally, it was no surprise to the staff and student already attending when they heard the quiet, cold and intelligent daughter of the Yoshino family, Chidori, was accepted into the prestigious school.

Chidori fit in rather well with the students; she was smarter than most so she was placed in special high-school level classes rather than the classes normal students took. Although she did not converse with the other students much, Chidori was a model student, even if she did not know herself. She never listened to idle rumors; always put her art and studies before anything else, and, ultimately, became a target.

In the third month of her second term there, pair of young twins, both girls, named Naomi and Seiko was accepted on a scholarship.

Chidori paid them no mind, paid no attention to the rumors that stirred when they arrived that first day, and didn't even think about conversing with them.

Later, however, Chidori realized that was a mistake.

"_You dress weird. Like a doll. Are you a toy or something?"_ the cold laughter insisted, _"You're a toy. And toys are played with. So, I'll play with you now."_

For a whole six months, including the summer, they two twins tortured her, mocked her, and started the worst rumors about her. Life became meaningless. Almost dull, even. She had contemplated it, repeatedly, "Why me? Why did they choose me?"

The more she thought about, the more insults that were thrown her way, the more people looked at her when she passed in the hall, almost to the point when it became unbearable.

She did not speak, not a _peep_, about the insults the fact that she felt like she was slowly going mad.

Chidori, desperate for an outlet for her emotions, resorted to drawing. She drew when she was sad; she drew when she was happy. She drew so much that her sketchbook was her only friend.

Until _he_ came along.

Junpei was from a lower class family; his father was not famous for anything besides drinking and his mother was MIA. Yet, somehow, he managed to keep a smiled on his face. She guessed that is what got her attention the most. Junpei went to the school rivaling hers, Gekkougan Intermediate, so she thought it best not to speak with him. In fact, they would not have become such good friends if she had not run into her bullies one night.

Junpei, on the other hand, did not want to be just Chidori's friend from the first moment he saw her. He saw her and it was like love at first sight; his heart thumped rather loudly, he got sweaty and was hit with the kind of social whiplash that only Chidori could. Granted, he was only 12 when he met her, but by the time he got to 14, Junpei was having dreams about her. She really had struck him differently then Yuka-tan or Fuuka did. Yukari was a friend, sure. However, she was more of a bro than anything (That, and he knew he would strike out her if he tried). As for Fuuka, well, she was smart (really, _really_, smart) and super cute too, but was too shy and coddled, too scared of the world. What he need was a cute, outgoing girl who could just chill. Someone he could talk to.

And that was, in everyway, shape and form, was Chidori Yoshino. Not that she would ever know that.


	2. The Day They Met

The dead of October was Chidori's preferred time of year; with Halloween right around the corner, she was very excited. She'd always liked Halloween. That was the time of year when Goth Lolita's like herself could be who they were. It was also a day where she wasn't picked out in the crowd by her bullies.

And that made her very happy in itself. A day to relax, a day to draw in peace. A day to not worry about hiding.

But, at this point in time, it was not Halloween. Today was October 26th, a few days before said Holiday. Today, like most days, Chidori had to look over her shoulder. She had too keep watch. Watch for her bullies. This particular day, however, Port Island Station—the place she normally went to draw—was quite crowded. Not the ideal place to draw, with her bullies lingering about. Plus, it was bound to be very loud, so she wouldn't be able to concentrate. She decided to go to the Mall; there was a quiet little bench there that would suit her needs just fine.

Once she got there, Chidori sat and opened her sketchbook, beginning to draw to her hearts content. She'd gotten in a good twenty minutes of drawing when a large shadow blocked her view. She got curious and looked up for the source. Soon after, she wished she hadn't.

'_Oh no… this isn't good.' _

Naomi put on a fake smile, "_Hey _Chidori. Long time no see, eh?"

She looked down quickly, gulping. "Umm… y-yeah." On instinct, she closed her sketch book and clutched it to her chest.

A chuckle, "Oh, c'mon. You don't have to look so scared. We're friends." the smile disappeared, "…_right_?"

In fear for her life, she nodded quickly, "Y-Yes, of course we a-are." She took a deep breath. Time to be brave. "I-I need to go… I need to do something at home." She said, beginning to walk away.

She did not get very far; however, because Naomi had grabbed her hair, which was average length, to keep her from leaving, she fell to the ground. "Not so fast. I'm not done you yet, _Doll_."

Chidori's heart raced, like it did every time. She'd called her "Doll," the (rather hurtful) nickname she'd gotten from them. That was proof she was not off the hook today.

"I think," Naomi said, venom in her voice, "we should teach you a little lesson in respect, Doll."

* * *

He was bored. There was nothing to do at this time of day, but it's not as if he could go home. He was just wasting time, buying himself some time of solace before he had no choice but too return to his home and his (most likely) drunken father. Normally, he would hang out at Port Island Station but it was too crowded today for some reason. So, instead, he went to the mall to chill.

He had just gotten there, when he noticed a girl sitting all by herself, drawing away, when a group of girls walked up to her. They looked like they were bothering her. The girl was drawing got up to leave, but one of the other girls pulled her back by her hair.

Junpei glared. God, he could not _stand_ people like that. They were so mean. And to make thing worse, they were _girls_. Girls were the worst kinds of bullies.

But, in all seriousness, the girl they were picking on was cute. Now that he thought about, he'd seen her around before.

Deciding it wouldn't be the best to ignore her, he walked up to the gurop of girls. "Hey," he shouted, "leave her alone."

* * *

This boy… who was he? Chidori didn't know. All she knew was that a boy whom she didn't know was standing up for her. No one had done that before.

"Who the hell're _you_?" Seiko sneered at him. They boy, in his baseball cap and jacket (which, she remarked, had the Gekkougan Intermediate symbol on it), replied with much venom, "I _said_, let her go. What'd she do to you, any way?"

Naomi glared at him. "Hmph. Whatever… let's go, Seiko." She slammed her against the wall as a final act of cruelty, "Later, Doll. I'll see you tomorrow."

Seiko sneered at the boy, and then at her one last time before leaving, following her sister.

The boy rolled his eyes, and then walked over to check on her. "Hey," he said, "you okay? It seems like they were hurting you pretty badly there."

Chidori nodded. "Yes… I'm alright. I… I'm used to it by now."

Junpei felt himself lurch, just a bit, at her words. She sounded… sad, yet happy. Happy that he saved her, but sad because she was so used to it.

He extended his hand to her, and she took it. Helping her up to her feet, Junpei offered her a smile. "I'm Junpei. Junpei Iori."

Chidori nodded. So, his name was Junpei then. "My name is Chidori. Chidori Yoshino. Nice to meet you, Junpei." He smiled at her, "Nice too meet you too, Chidori."

And so, a beautiful friendship began…


	3. Looks

They changed over the summer, both of them.

Junpei had changed. More than he expected too, actually. He had grown a goatee, for one. He also had gotten really tall.

Chidori, on the other hand, had changed very little. Well, mentally speaking. Physically, she changed a lot. Her hair got longer—about half-way down her back—for one. She'd also gotten taller than she was but not as tall as he. She was just a little shorter than him, but not by much. Chidori had also become more… _womanly_.

Like any girl, her body began to become more like a woman and less like the girl he'd met that cold October day. She'd gotten curves, for one. Although she didn't do it often, there were times when Chidori wore a shirt or her pajamas, and those things showed the wonderful curves God had blessed her with. Chidori had also developed sizeable breasts, he noticed. He thanked the school she went too, or at least, the person who ordered the high-school uniforms, because those things were low cut. Not just the shirt, which gave a wonderful view, but the skirt was just long enough to cover her behind and her thighs, which gave the best view of her legs.

Not that he was a pervert or anything; just his observation.


End file.
